Yard Sale Poll

**pollypurebred39** · 05-20-2008, 10:41 PM

What are the most important things to include in a yard sale ad?

When you read an ad in the classifieds, just what line draws you in? Making it a maybe I'll swing by and check this one out ,to a this is a can't miss yard sale?

I'm in charge of writing the ad for our yard sale. It really should be called a mortgage sale

My husband has been laid off since begining of November and there are no jobs in his field where we live. We decided that there was no other choice but to have a yard sale once a month dragging out the contents of our home to come up with the mortgage. We need to come up with $1300 for each yard sale. We need some serious foot traffic. Any ideas would be most welcome.

**hippytreehugger4ever** · 05-20-2008, 11:14 PM

What do you have to sell and what part of the country do you live in? Here in Nebraska anything with antiques or craft items sell well.

**CristiK** · 05-21-2008, 10:38 AM

Wow....1300 a month from yard sales is a tall order! What about taking a pizza delivery job or just a part time job as well. My hubby did the pizza delivery for awhile to get us through. It wasn't hard and he made fairly good tips. Anyway, good luck with your sales!

**magnolia** · 05-21-2008, 10:47 AM

I like to buy our clothes at yard sales when I can. An ad that draws me in is one that lists the clothing with the gender and the size. I'll go to that one before one that says "lots and lots of clothes" with no sizes included.

Good luck! I hope you make lots of sales!

**Jeanna** · 05-21-2008, 11:40 AM

Here in the south tools, camping/fishing/hunting equipment and furniture sells to men. Decorative items,toys,kids clothing, books, movies, linens, and purses are big sellers for women. Adult clothes will sell but are not a real big seller anymore, of course with the economy the way it is they may come back. If you are writing an add make sure to make the street address clear. Unless you live on a main thru-way. Meaning don't just but Elm street make sure to list the main rode that it is off of. Make the rules clear as in No early sales, times of the sells, etc. Since it is a sell because of financial stress put that if you feel comfortable. Hope things go well. Good Luck.

**Suzi T.** · 05-21-2008, 11:50 AM

Hi, here in Texas we have a lot of yard sales and signs are very important. Make them LARGE and easy to read. DO NOT list what you are selling on the sign. Make large arrow pointing in the right direction and address CLEARLY.I am a professional(ha) yard saler and I don't want to hunt for the sale or take up time with a sale that makes it hard for me!

**Momto2Boyz** · 05-21-2008, 12:42 PM

I'd say be as specific as you can (without too many lines in the ad, so it doesn't cost a fortune).

Usually, when I am scanning the ads, I am looking for something specific, so I try to find it, then see what else catches my eye!

Look at paper routes too! My boys and I did a paper route once a week to bring in money over the winter when my husband wasn't working. It only brought it about $100/month, but it was something!

Good luck!

**FrugalWitch** · 05-21-2008, 03:55 PM

Just a tip. Once you've put up your signs drive the route and see if you can easily read them in a moving vehicle. Nothing is worse than teeny-tiny signs that you can't read. Pick one color and stick to it to make following the signs even easier. (ie make all signs on green posterboard or orange etc)

**Twinkle** · 05-21-2008, 04:10 PM

Originally Posted by FrugalWitch

Just a tip. Once you've put up your signs drive the route and see if you can easily read them in a moving vehicle. Nothing is worse than teeny-tiny signs that you can't read. Pick one color and stick to it to make following the signs even easier. (ie make all signs on green posterboard or orange etc)

There isn't anything more frustrating than not being able to read the signs when driving.

**LuvMyHubby** · 05-21-2008, 04:29 PM

I agree with the others make sure that your signs are easy to ready without having to slow down to a crawl and stopping traffic.

If I am looking at ads in the paper I am mostly looking at where sales are located but sometimes I check to see what large items people have i.e. furniture or appliances.

I'm not sure that you will be able to make a large sum every month on a yard sale alone, those are usually one or two shot deals. Is there any other ways to supplement your income? You may want to consider E-Bay for any larger items you have.

I love your avatar by the way.

**tbs727** · 05-21-2008, 04:34 PM

Don't forget to advertise on Craigslist, too, if you have one in your area.

**Neeley** · 05-21-2008, 06:55 PM

I really don't pay attention to all of the hype in the ads. I just make a note of the address, date and time. That is the important stuff, IMO.

I also agree that yard sales are a one, maybe two shot deals. Personally, I avoid the homes that I know have already had a sale in the past 6-9 months. We just have so many around here that we can't hit them all every week and can be selective about which ones we go to.

Good luck!!! Hope it all works out for you.

**Frugal Nurse** · 05-21-2008, 07:09 PM

ESTATE SALE

You won't be lying- really.

Selling off partial contents of home.
Then list what some are.
I don't bother to go to sales that list TOYS and baby items.
(until my children have children- I'm not going to them)

Ditto on the signs.

**pollypurebred39** · 05-21-2008, 07:31 PM

Estate sale LOL! Yeah I guess your are right. We will be selling everything it took 16 + years to collect. We are really selling everything we own. Clothes, furniture, collectables, tools, homeschool stuff, some really hard to part with stuff too like a very expensive Bushnell telescope and old trains worth well over a thousand dollars. Every yard sale will be totally different from the previous as we will be dragging out the contents of our home till it is empty.

Strange how our lives just went up in smoke in a matter a few months. My husband is a construction supervisor. You know, the guy who sits in the trailer on a job site. Also does refits for exsiting stores. When no one shops no one builds. When no one builds there's no work in construction. Banks don't even want to loan money to build. Bad risk in this economy.

Love the making signs big so they are readable in a moving car. also, posting clothes sizes, never thought of that. Never thought of craigs list. I've never been to that site. Worth checking out.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll let you all know how it went.

**FrugalWitch** · 05-21-2008, 07:36 PM

Personally I wouldn't put out the trains and telescopes if I were you. I suppose if you want to risk taking a check from a complete stranger you could (I wouldn't), but most people that I know do not go to yardsales to buy very expensive items. You would probably do better to eBay or run a separate for sale ad for your really pricey pieces. JMHO

One more tip, make sure you have enough cash and coin on hand to make change.